


Lost and Found

by MadeNew



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Growing Up, M/M, Naruto loses everything he owns, Protective Uchiha Itachi, Protective Uchiha Sasuke, Protective Uzumaki Naruto, Slow Burn, Soulmates, and Sasuke finds it all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28914171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadeNew/pseuds/MadeNew
Summary: In a world where you find the things your soulmate loses, Sasuke's closet is nearly overflowing.Naruto's, on the other hand, stays painfully empty.A story about trust, love, and finding each other.Tags to be updated along with the fic. Updates Fridays.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 179
Kudos: 349





	1. Matching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello y'all! Welcome! :) I've been enjoying creating this little fic, and I hope you enjoy coming along for the ride just as much. The fic is structured simply: each update will be fairly short (similar to this one in length), but I post consistently each Friday until completion. Without further ado, please enjoy! :)

Sasuke’s six years old the first time he asks Itachi what a soulmate is.

He’s heard the word before, of course. Everyone has. It floats in and out of everyday conversation; flashes across the tv screen; and most recently, he’s heard his neighbors telling Itachi, “Soulmates and all? Such a tragedy,” and he knows from the way his brother’s eyes flashed that it isn't a good thing.

Itachi freezes, as if this question were the last thing he expected from his little brother, and Sasuke watches him slowly turn and walk carefully, deliberately, towards the refrigerator. “Where did that come from, Sasuke?”

Sasuke’s only six, but he knows this strategy Itachi has of answering a question with a question, and he knows that if he starts answering, he’ll be the only one answering. So instead, he fidgets with his dinosaur toy for a minute before repeating himself. “What’s a soulmate?”

He thinks he catches a glimpse of Itachi’s smile, soft and pleased, before he turns back, face blank and a container in hand. “Alright, then. Let’s get lunch before we go to the park. How does that sound?”

“What’s a soulmate?” Sasuke asks again, this time with slightly increased volume and determination.

This time, he definitely sees the flicker of a smile before Itachi sighs, dropping down to one knee so he’s at Sasuke’s level. “A soulmate is someone who’s meant to match you perfectly,” he explains. “But Sasuke, someone who matches you isn’t always someone who loves you or loves you right. People think it is, but it doesn’t always work that way.”

Sasuke thinks about this. “Match like my socks match?”

Itachi tilts his head, considering. “Mm… More like puzzle pieces match. Does that make sense?”

He thinks so. “Yeah.”

“Good. Now, do you remember how we always list everything we have before we leave the house?”

Sasuke nods, gripping his dinosaur just a little tighter. He’d almost forgotten him once on a bus, and Itachi had immediately given him a long lecture about how if he left him, he likely wouldn’t ever see him again, and so to hold him close no matter what.

Itachi smiles and gently touches the toy on its downy head. “Yes, exactly. Now, the reason we do that is because if you lose something and you don’t find it the first time you look, it will appear in front of your soulmate the next day. And you don’t want to count on your soulmate to find your things, keep them safe, or give them back. Matching doesn’t mean love. Right?”

Sasuke thinks about this before nodding again, a little more tentatively this time.

Itachi tilts his head to the side. “Well. I suppose you don’t really have to worry about any of that for some time, I hope, so it’s okay if you don’t understand.”

“I understand!” Sasuke insists, stretching up on his toes so he can see the top of his brother’s head. “I won’t lose – anything!”

Itachi laughs softly. “I hope not, little brother. Now, how about you help me make lunch? If we’re quick, we might get some extra time at the park.”

Sasuke perks up. He likes spending time at the park. “Will they meet us there?”

Itachi stiffens. “No, Sasuke,” he says, and it’s firm and clear as he stands up, leading Sasuke to the table. “They’re out of town. You know that.”

He nods. He wishes they saw their parents more, but lately, it seems like Sasuke mostly lives in the little apartment Itachi has near school. He doesn’t mind – he loves his brother – but he does miss seeing them.

Itachi ruffles his hair, and Sasuke pulls away and makes a face. Itachi laughs. “Sorry. What do you think? Should we stay here and make enough for dinner? Or should we finish our leftovers and spend more time at the park?”

“The park!” Sasuke declares. “I bet I can run as fast as you can!”

“I’m sure you run very fast,” Itachi assures him, and Sasuke preens. “Alright, leftovers it is. Can you grab the bowls?”

Sasuke jumps to get them, stopping when his dinosaur falls to the ground and carefully picking him up and placing him on the table. “I don’t want to lose him,” he tells Itachi solemnly. “I don’t want my match to find him.”

“That’s good,” Itachi agrees. “It’s best to take care of things yourself, Sasuke, when you can. Bowls, now.”

Sasuke scampers off to grab them, already thinking about how he can test his speed. He already knows he’s faster than the other kids who go to the park. They’re fine, but they’re kind of boring. Sasuke doesn’t really care about the stupid games they want to play. He’d prefer to play tag and race, but he always wins – the other kids get bored of Sasuke, and Sasuke gets tired of them. He can usually convince Itachi to play when that happens, though, and that’s always the best part.

He eats as quickly as he can, rushing Itachi and putting his shoes on in a hurry. Before they can leave the apartment, Itachi stops him. “And?” he asks.

Sasuke thinks. “Shoes, socks, pants, shirt, hat,” he says quickly. “My pockets are empty.”

“Good.” Itachi nods. “What do you need to watch?”

Sasuke grabs at his head. “My hat!”

“That’s right. I don’t think anything else will be too easy to lose. We’re ready, then. Let’s go.”

The park is only a few blocks from their house, so they can walk it easily – and do, most days. Sasuke’s plotting out the perfect racetrack in his head – from the swings, around the merry-go-round, under the slide, and over the jungle gym – when they get there. He steps onto the soft grass, arm outstretched to touch the post of the swing set, and –

“NARUTO! Watch where you’re – _look out!”_

The next thing Sasuke knows, he’s on the ground, there’s a boy with too many teeth in his smile and dirt in his blond hair on top of him, and his plans are completely ruined because there’s definitely a rock in his sneaker.

Sasuke doesn’t know who this boy is, but he’s pretty sure he hates him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we go! Just laying a bit of groundwork here, but I hope y'all like it so far :) Sasuke's dinosaur toy is 100% a reference to some work by [KinomiAkai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KinomiAkai/pseuds/KinomiAkai) \- I think I internalized this one so much it became a headcanon for me :) Let me know! See y'all next week! <3


	2. Racing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! Happy Friday! :) It's been so cool to see so much speculation and encouragement from the first chapter. I'll do my best to live up to it! Thank you so much :) Please enjoy! :)

Naruto absolutely cannot wait to go to the park. His sneakers are new and light-up, and he’s pretty sure – he thinks that if – the other kids don’t usually like him and think he’s too loud, but –

“Anyone who doesn’t wanna race with someone with sneakers this cool is dumb, right, Iruka?!” He puffs out his chest and stares up at him eagerly.

Iruka gives him a fond smile and ruffles his hair, pushing him gently towards the door. “Definitely. Alright, are you ready to go? Do you have everything?”

“Yup!”

“Naruto – wait – you know the rules.”

Naruto scowls and stops, hand on the doorknob, twisting back to look at Iruka. “Do I gotta?”

“Yes, you _gotta._ You gotta every time we leave. You know that.” Iruka crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows.

Naruto groans and dramatically throws his arms over his head. “Fine! I have – my shoes. And socks. The dinosaur ones. And jeans. And my dinosaur t-shirt. And you won’t let me take a hat, so no hats! And a rock in my pocket.”

Iruka points to the side table beside the door. “Rock. Now.”

“Aww – Iruka!” Naruto crosses his arms defiantly. “Please?”

“No, Naruto. If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that if you have something in your pocket, you’ll lose it. And what happens when we lose things?”

“Irukaaa –”

“Naruto, _what happens?”_

Naruto drops his head and grumbles, “If we lose things, our soulmates find them, and we don’t know when we’ll meet them or if they’ll keep our stuff until then. Losing things is bad.”

“Losing things is inconvenient,” Iruka corrects, “but because you can lose important things you need before you find your soulmate, it’s good to practice with the little ones. Rock. On the table. Now, please, or we just won’t go to the park.”

“Ugh – _fine.”_ Naruto pulls the rock out and sets it down. It’s shiny on the edges, bright ribbons of black _something_ that he’s sure is important, even if Iruka doesn’t think so, and he doesn’t really wanna lose it.

As he’s grabbing it though, he feels his fingers brush something else: a small model frog that Jiraiya had sent last weekend, and he –

Well, if the sneakers don’t convince the other kids he’s cool, the frog definitely will, right?

He carefully shifts it to the side of his leg so that Iruka can’t see it at all as he turns back around. “Okay, okay! Can we go now?”

Iruka chuckles. “Alright, alright. Let’s go. I’m going to hang onto your jacket, okay? In case it rains – _Naruto, wait up!”_

Naruto, already halfway down the hall of the apartment building, has absolutely no intention of waiting up.

By the time they get to the park, he’s talking a mile a minute, and he literally cannot wait another second to figure out if these sneakers make him run faster than his old ones. “Can you time me?” he asks excitedly. “I bet I can beat my last record! Especially with the jungle gym! I bet these shoes make me jump higher faster!”

“I think you’re responsible for how high you jump, Naruto,” Iruka says, “but of course I’ll time you.”

Naruto can’t wait. He takes off – sprinting as fast as he can towards the merry-go-round, then around to the swings and –

He hears Iruka’s shout, and he turns to look, and then suddenly he’s falling, toppling over a new kid he hasn’t seen before, pinning him to the ground.

“Oops!” he says. He pushes off the boy, using one hand against the kid’s chest to lift himself up, which he kinda knows is – probably not great, but it gets him up, so whatever – “Sorry! I didn’t see you! I’m Naruto!”

The boy stares at him, still on the ground, although he does sit up. He has dark hair and eyes, and Naruto waits for what feels like forever, but he doesn’t say anything.

He’s starting to get irritated. He hasn’t even had a chance to really _try_ his sneakers yet, and yeah, he knocked him over, but he apologized, so really, it’s time to move on. “Oh, come on! I didn’t hit you that hard! What are you – a wuss?!”

The boy scowls at him. “I’m fine,” he snaps. “You should pay attention.”

“Yeah, yeah, Iruka says so, too,” Naruto cheerfully agrees, offering the kid his hand. “What’s your name?”

The boy looks at Naruto's hand as if it might somehow bite him.

“Oh – come on –” Naruto knows he’s pushing his limits. If the boy doesn’t get up soon, Iruka’s going to be here apologizing, and based on past experiences, he’s pretty sure that’ll be the end of his park time. And he still hasn’t had a chance to time his new sneakers. He crouches down. “It’s okay, really. Look – do you wanna see something cool?”

The boy doesn’t answer, but he does tilt his head so that his hair isn’t blocking so much of his face, and Naruto’s pretty sure that’s good enough. He glances back to make sure his back is turned so Iruka can’t see, and he pulls the small model frog out of his pocket. “This is Gamakichi,” he says in a hushed tone. “He’s a real model! Isn’t he cool?”

The boy carefully takes him in his hands and spins him slowly, holding him up to his eyes. “He’s kinda cool, I guess.” He hands him back, and Naruto catches his hand as he pulls away and yanks them both so they’re standing up. His knee knocks into the boy’s shin, but he figures that’s okay.

The boy makes a face but doesn’t move away. “I’m Sasuke,” he says after a moment.

“Cool name,” Naruto tells him. “Hey – do you wanna race? I have the coolest sneakers ever, and I bet I’ll totally beat you.”

Sasuke snorts. “No way, loser.”

Naruto stamps his foot. “I’m not a loser! Race me! Now!”

Sasuke crosses his arms. “The best way is if we start at the swings and end at the tree after the jungle gym. Not the way _you_ were doing it, moron.”

Naruto stares at him. “Not the – fine! We’ll do it your way, and I’ll still win!”

“Prove it!"

Naruto grabs his wrist and yanks him over so they’re standing shoulder to shoulder at the end of the swing set. “Iruka!” he shouts. “Time us!”

“Ready,” Sasuke says.

“Set.” Naruto bends his legs and stomps his feet so his sneakers glow.

_“Go!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit more fun and interaction here - what did you think? :) It was fun to write, so I hope it was fun to read, too. See y'all next week! <3


	3. Finding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday, y'all! It's been a bit of a crazy week for me, so here, take this and run - please enjoy! :)

“I think you made a friend, Sasuke,” Itachi says, his eyes fixed on a still-shouting blond head as an impatient Iruka drags him away, waving at Itachi over his shoulder. “He seems…nice.”

Sasuke frowns. “He falls down a lot,” he says, “and I’m still faster than he is. Right?”

Itachi looks down at him and raises one eyebrow. “For now.”

Sasuke whips his head up to stare at him, eyes wide. “What?!”

Itachi shrugs and puts one hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, gently turning him and guiding him slowly towards the sidewalk to head back to their apartment. “Well, from what I was seeing, even though you beat him, he was getting closer and closer to catching up each time. I think you’ll have to work pretty hard to keep up with him.”

“No way! He’s a loser! I’ll win!”

“Sasuke, that’s not nice –”

“He says he’s gonna start at school tomorrow! Do you think he’ll be in my class?”

Itachi’s lecture cuts itself short in a choked-off mumble, and Sasuke looks up, alarmed, to see him covering his face with his hand.

Not very well. Sasuke’s pretty sure he’s laughing at him, and he frowns. “It’s not funny. He says he wants to race me on the playground, but how am I supposed to do that if we’re not in the same class and I don’t know where he is?”

“I –” Itachi has to take a deep breath, and Sasuke watches impatiently as he lifts his head and looks carefully calm. “I don’t know, Sasuke. If he is in your class, make sure you wait with him after school so that I can speak with Iruka again and get his phone number, okay?”

“Why?”

“Because you’ve made your first actual friend,” Itachi says simply, “and I’m not going to let him go. Come on, let’s hurry a bit more. I want to make sure you have all your stuff ready for school tomorrow before you go to bed tonight.”

“Aww, Ita–”

“No complaints, Sasuke.”

Sasuke pouts. His face is flushed and cold from the wind, and he can’t stop thinking about how maybe, if he tries the route that Naruto wants – it’ll still be the worse one, obviously, but then he can _prove_ that he’s faster no matter what. “Do you think we can race after school tomorrow too?”

Itachi hums. “I don’t think so. I’ll have a lot of work to get done, and I need to be home for that. If I speak with Iruka, I’ll see if we can set something up for later this week, okay? Now, quickly – do you have everything still?”

“Ummm…” Sasuke thinks and grabs at his head, panicking for only a moment before he sees it in his brother’s far hand. “You have my hat, so socks, shoes, pants, shirt.” He touches each item as he says it.

“Good.” Itachi leans over and pulls the hat over Sasuke's head, tucking his hair gently out of his eyes. “We’ll have to practice this more for school, you know.”

“I know.” Sasuke wonders if he’ll have to count every piece of homework too. Probably. Itachi never wants to lose things.

It doesn’t take long for them to get home, and Itachi quickly gets Sasuke’s and his own school stuff in order. Sasuke knows Itachi has to drop him off early at school before he goes to his own high school, and he doesn’t like it, but he knows better than to complain. It’s not his brother’s fault that Sasuke can’t walk to school alone or that his class starts earlier. Before they go to bed, Itachi has him make a list of everything in his backpack and say it until Sasuke can recite it by memory. Just to prove a point when Sasuke pouts, he fluidly lists everything he has in his much bigger bag too.

“Mom dropped off bentos before she left,” Itachi says, “so that’ll be on the list, too, tomorrow. Is that too many things?”

“No.” Sasuke wrinkles his eyebrows. “I can remember everything!”

Itachi laughs. “I’m sure you can. Bedtime, then.”

Sasuke’s pretty sure he’s not tired, but he can’t remember anything past lying down, so he must fall asleep right away. Actually, the next thing he knows, his brother is calling him from the doorway, telling him it’s time to get up and ready for school. “Coming!” he mumbles back, sitting up and stretching.

He blinks blearily at the dawning sun starting to peek in through his window and wonders if Naruto will be in his class or if Sasuke will have to try to find him on the playground. He’ll probably have to start looking by the merry-go-round. Naruto really seemed to like that yesterday. He thinks it’s cheating because it’s so big – it’s a lot harder to touch just a swing-set pole, but Naruto’s kind of dumb, so he’ll probably have to get over it.

He’s thinking so hard about this, actually, that he almost doesn’t see it and has to yank his foot back at the last second to avoid stepping on it and yelps in surprise. Itachi never lets him leave his toys on the floor.

“Sasuke? Are you alright?” his brother calls from the living room.

“Fine!” Sasuke shouts back reflexively. He crouches down and picks it up, turning it in his hands because –

There’s no way.

But it is.

Clutched in Sasuke’s hand is Naruto’s little model frog.

Sasuke’s mind whirls. He wants to show Itachi. He _should_ show Itachi. He should also give the frog back – he knows how cool Naruto thinks it is – but –

That would mean Naruto is Sasuke’s match, and Sasuke doesn’t know what to do about that.

“Sasuke?” Itachi asks again, and this time there’re footsteps, and Sasuke –

Sasuke leaps at his bed and shoves the frog under his pillow. It’ll be safe there, until he can figure out what to do.

He doesn’t want Naruto to be his match. He wants him to be his friend. And besides, how can someone who can’t even beat Sasuke _once_ in racing be his match?

It’s best not to give it back for now, he decides. Not until Sasuke figures this out for sure.

After all, it’d be silly to accuse someone of being his match who can’t even keep up. If Naruto’s in his class, he’ll know by the time Itachi picks him up, and everything will be fine.

Everything will be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has been so kind to me, and I'm so grateful. I've never tackled a project like this before, so it's been challenging and so, so fun. Thank you so much!! Let me know what you think :) I'll see y'all next week! <3
> 
> (Also, I apparently have this [twitter](https://twitter.com/MadeNew7) now? I don't post a whole lot, but I will post my updates there and the occasional headcanon/writing process post, if you're curious!)


	4. Naming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I honestly can't tell you how happy it makes me each week to see your comments and know that so many of you are enjoying this and following along with it :) You really do bring me joy, especially on bad days. Thank you so much. Now - please enjoy! :)

Naruto doesn’t realize he’s lost the frog until later that night when Kakashi asks about it. He’s brought dinner – ramen, which Naruto is ecstatic about, even if Iruka frowns and tells him they really need to get some vegetables, too – and Iruka’s busy unpacking it, calling for Naruto to set the table.

“Hey, Jiraiya told me he sent a package the other day,” Kakashi says, leaning casually against the fridge as Iruka scrambles around him. “Get anything good?”

“Yeah!” Naruto cheers, grabbing at his pockets. “He – oh – I –”

Iruka spins around and points at him before Naruto can come up with a lie that makes any kind of sense. “ _Naruto_. Did you take that frog to the park without telling me?”

“No!”

“Naruto!”

“I – okay, but – it was so cool, and I thought it might make the other kids – anyways, it worked! Sasuke liked it!”

“Sasuke?” Kakashi says, voice suddenly sharp. “Who’s this now?”

“Sasuke Uchiha,” Iruka tells him, and there’s something heavy in his voice that makes Naruto pause, already on the verge of explaining to Kakashi that Sasuke _only_ won because Naruto’s new sneakers weren’t broken in yet and how he’s totally gonna find him at school tomorrow and beat him.

“Uchiha,” Kakashi repeats, and –

Naruto’s bored with this conversation now. “Yeah, whatever!” he says loudly. “He just barely beat me, Kakashi! But I’m gonna beat him tomorrow! But I met him ‘cause I ran into him but I showed him my frog and then he calmed down because frogs are _cool_.”

“Frogs are very cool,” Kakashi agrees. “You’re sure it was Uchiha, Iruka?”

“Itachi was there himself,” Iruka says, now back to spooning the takeout into separate bowls. “Poor kid. You should have seen how much he hung back to watch his brother without being noticed.”

“Why would anyone notice Itachi?” Naruto asks. “Wait! I want the frog bowl, Iruka!”

“The Uchihas are a very…prominent family, Naruto,” Kakashi explains.

“No, no frog bowl today.” Iruka waves a spoon at him. “You’re not getting a reward for losing your model, Naruto. Or for lying to me. You know better.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry.” He sulks. “You think my soulmate’ll find it? And what’s prom-nent mean?”

Kakashi laughs. “It means…important. Famous, kind of.”

Naruto gasps. “Sasuke’s famous?!”

“Well, it’s more his paren–”

“And that’s enough of that!” Iruka interrupts, setting the bowls on the table. “Naruto, grab the napkins from the cupboard, please.”

“Aww –”

“No complaining. Now, or you’ll have rice for dinner and go straight to bed.”

Naruto snaps to attention and rushes to the cupboard. The last time he tested Iruka, Kakashi had eaten Naruto’s entire bowl of ramen. Naruto’s pretty sure it was one of the worst nights of his life.

“Shouldn’t we tell him?” Kakashi asks in a low voice.

“Remember when _we_ met? Would you have appreciated someone explaining what the name _Hatake_ meant?” Iruka fires back, and Naruto tries not to listen too obviously as he reaches for the napkins.

“Fine, fine, I surrender. But I think if they stay friends, it would probably be best if he hears it from us.”

“It would be best if he hears it from Sasuke,” Iruka corrects, “but yes, we’ll see if the friendship sticks.”

“It’s totally gonna stick!” Naruto declares, rushing back to the table. “What is he supposed to tell me?!”

“Nothing,” they say in sync, and he squints at them suspiciously.

“What are you talking about?”

Iruka points dangerously at Kakashi. “This is your fault. Fix it.”

“I’m not sure we –” He clears his throat as Iruka makes a stabbing motion. “Um. Naruto. You know how sometimes when you meet new kids, they ask about your mom and dad, or they don’t understand when you talk about Iruka and me?”

“Yeah.” Naruto makes a face. “They’re dumb. And mean sometimes.”

“Okay. But sometimes, like when a friend asks you, you want to talk about them? A friend like Sakura?”

He perks up. “Yeah!”

“Okay. Well, remember everyone has things that sometimes they want to talk about and sometimes they don’t. And we have to respect that, right? And we don’t judge people based on their family.”

“We judge them based on their own stupidity!” Naruto finishes, and Iruka chokes on a noodle.

“I really wish you hadn’t taught him that,” he says hoarsely, wiping his face on the napkin Naruto hands him.

“I really hope someone gets him to say it in school,” Kakashi answers dreamily. “Good boy, Naruto. Alright then. So, if Sasuke wants to talk, you let him. And if he doesn’t?”

Naruto shrugs. “Why do I care about his family? Except for Itachi. He was pretty good at timing us, I guess. Iruka always gets distracted.”

Kakashi glances at him. “What? Too many pretty ladies around?”

Naruto slurps loudly, drowning out Iruka’s protests. “He keeps tryna get them to sign a paper about updating the park rules.”

Iruka goes bright red. “I –”

“I love you,” Kakashi laughs, cutting him off. “You keep those kids safe. Besides, it’s the perfect way to keep the other parents away from you. We don’t need more friends.”

“You only say that because Gai counts for six people on his own,” Iruka counters.

“Do you think Sasuke’ll be in my class?!” Naruto asks. He really hopes so. No one’s ever really played with him for so long. Well, except Sakura, but she doesn’t like to race too much.

“I think he is, buddy,” Iruka says. “I remember seeing his name on the class roster. But no more sneaking your models out of here. If you do, I’ll take them away and keep them safe until you can learn to be responsible with them.”

“Aww, Iru–”

“That’s enough.” Kakashi stands, carefully clearing Naruto’s bowl from him. “Alright, kid. Time to go for a walk, and then we’ll get ready for bed.”

“Can I take my backpack so if we find some cool rocks, I can take them home?!”

He chuckles. “Sure, but only if it starts empty. And I’ll check, too, so don’t think about trying to sneak something in.”

“I won’t!” He scrambles up. He might not be able to bring his models, but –

Well, Naruto’s pretty sure Sasuke would have to be a real dummy not to appreciate his best rocks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in nearly every long(er) story I've ever written, I've had a moment where I finish a section and sort of resurface, look at what I've written, and think, "Huh. I didn't plan that." Although it's a bit terrifying, it usually means that I'm doing something right, and the story is taking on a life of its own. This was that chapter :) I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!! Let me know :) See y'all next week! <3


	5. Testing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are the best. You make me smile so much, and I get excited whenever it's time to write and then again when it's time to post :) Also glad y'all like Kakashi and Iruka as much as I did! They were so much fun. Anyways - please enjoy! :)

School hasn’t even started yet, and Sasuke’s already sure he hates it.

He’s been there for a solid fifteen minutes now, outside on the playground with a few other early arrivers after Itachi dropped him off with a reminder to behave and a last recitation of his lengthening list of things he can’t lose. By all rights, Sasuke should be able to find some new racing routes and maybe beat the kids who annoy him.

Apparently, though, all they wanna do is whisper and ignore Sasuke when he approaches them.

Sasuke thinks they’re all very dumb anyways.

He’s debating whether or not it would be faster to start at the doors or the gates when an obnoxiously loud voice shouts, “Sasuke! Hey – _Sasuke!”_

He turns, and sure enough, Naruto’s there, eyes scrunched up to compensate for a wide smile that’s way too big for his face and backpack swinging off one shoulder and nearly dragging on the ground. “Loser,” he says once he gets close enough, and laughs when Naruto’s smile drops into a scowl.

“You’re a jerk,” Naruto tells him. “I had new shoes, so it doesn’t even count! They weren’t broken in yet. I’m totally gonna beat you today.”

“No way. You’re a loser, loser.”

“You probably shouldn’t hang out with him,” one of the other kids stage-whispers to Naruto – as if Sasuke isn’t standing _right next to him_ , and Sasuke thinks, well. It was nice while it lasted.

“What? Why?” Naruto turns and sizes up the other boy and promptly says, “You’re just mad because you’ll never win a race in those sneakers. But I will! Wait and see!”

The boy contorts his face in a way that Sasuke knows isn’t good but tries again anyways. “He’s an Uchiha, though. His family dissolves soul-bonds.”

Naruto considers this and then promptly turns to Sasuke and says, “That’s so cool! I don’t think other people can do that. It won’t make you win, though. Here! I’m gonna put my backpack inside ‘cause otherwise Iruka will yell at me but then you better be ready!” He dashes off to the doors, stops, and turns back. “Are you coming or what?”

Sasuke stares.

He doesn’t quite understand the whispers about his family. Whenever he’s asked Itachi, he’s told that it’s foolish talk from kids who don’t understand and that Sasuke shouldn’t indulge them by worrying about it.

He’s absolutely never seen someone call it cool and then pretend it doesn’t matter.

“You’re an idiot,” he tells Naruto.

“And you’re a jerk-face!” Naruto snaps back. “Come _on_. Let’s _go –”_

He runs back the few steps, grabs Sasuke by the wrist, and yanks him towards the school.

“Freak,” the other kid mutters, and Naruto –

“I’m gonna be the fastest one in school!” he declares. “And then you’ll have to stop being mean for no reason!”

“Good luck with that,” his friend laughs, and it’s a mean kind of laugh, and Sasuke –

Well, he doesn’t quite trip him, but he does kick a rock in front of the kid’s step, and if he falls – it’s not really Sasuke’s fault he’s an idiot who’s not paying attention. Not _really_.

The rest of the day goes much the same, but as it turns out, Naruto’s not really sacrificing any friendships to hang out with Sasuke. The kids may whisper and shy away when they find out Sasuke’s last name, but they make actual faces and pull away just when Naruto _talks_.

And part of Sasuke has to admit that he doesn’t mind and he doesn’t blame them. He doesn’t wanna be friends with kids who are so dumb they worry about Sasuke’s family when they barely know Sasuke, and even he can see that Naruto is…a lot.

He doesn’t really mind it, though. No one else has been able to keep up with Sasuke for so long, and no one else in class has decided that being an Uchiha warrants a “cool!” and then complete ignorance the rest of the time.

Naruto’s an idiot.

Sasuke kinda likes it.

It becomes only the two of them pretty quickly, although Naruto does have a friend in another class, Sakura, who says hi after school while they’re waiting. It turns out that Naruto will usually be early and stay late too because Iruka works at their school. “Iruka’s worried you’re going to lose your lunchbox,” she tells Naruto as a way of greeting.

“Sakura! Hi!” Naruto’s practically jumping up and down. “He worries too much! It’s fine!”

She crosses her arms, and Sasuke thinks that even though she’s technically shorter than him, she seems a little scary. “Really? Where is it?”

Naruto…utterly deflates. “Uh –”

Sasuke thinks fast. If Naruto is his match, then – “He gave it to me,” he says quickly. “I wanted to show Itachi so maybe I can have one like it, too.”

Naruto _beams_. “Yeah!” he half-shouts, whirling around to stare at Sasuke. “Because frogs are super cool!”

“They’re cool enough, dummy,” Sasuke says. “I’ll show it to Itachi. But if I get one, it’s gonna be _blue_ , not orange.”

“Orange is cooler, though.”

Sasuke can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Orange is _not_ cooler –”

“You’re the Uchiha,” Sakura interrupts. “The one everyone’s talking about.”

He shuts up and turns to glare at her. He really hopes these questions will be done after today. He thinks he probably needs to ask Itachi – maybe they are stupid, but he doesn’t like that these idiots seem to know something about him that he doesn’t.

“Sakuraaa,” Naruto whines, “his name is _Sasuke_. His family’s not important!”

She eyes him critically. “Is he nice to you?”

“No!” Naruto declares cheerfully. “He’s my friend!”

This seems to work because she stops glaring at Sasuke to laugh. “You’re a dummy,” she tells Naruto affectionately. “I gotta go home. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah! For sure! I’ll be here!” He puffs out his chest.

Sakura turns to Sasuke. “See you around, Uchiha,” she says, but it’s teasing, and Sasuke –

Well, maybe he doesn’t entirely hate her, either.

Naruto turns to him as soon as she walks away, pink backpack sparkling behind her. “Thanks,” he says, “but she’ll find out I lost it. Iruka’s gonna be so mad…”

Sasuke takes a deep breath. If Naruto’s his match – which probably, he isn’t, because he only even tied Sasuke once at recess, but he did find the frog, so – then Sasuke will find the lunchbox tomorrow, and Iruka never needs to know. “I do have it,” he lies. “You left it when we finished eating, and I picked it up. I forgot to tell you. I want to show Itachi, but I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”

“Sasuke!” Naruto beams and laughs. “Thank you! That’s so cool!”

Sasuke tells him he’s an idiot, and he is, but Sasuke thinks he might be worse.

After all, he only has two options now: hope Naruto’s his match and the lunchbox shows up or admit to his only friend he lied.

He tightens his grip on his backpack straps.

Well. Too late now.

He watches Naruto try to balance a pencil on his nose and wonders if being around someone dumb can turn him dumb, too.

…Probably, because when Itachi comes to get him ten minutes later, he’s managed to keep _his_ pencil on his nose _way_ longer than Naruto.

There’s no way he can be his match.

No way at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo a little more info about the Uchihas, a lot more bonding :) plus some Sakura! Also, I need you to know that the lines "Naruto's an idiot. Sasuke kinda likes it" basically sum up so much of their dynamic to me haha. What did you think? Let me know! See y'all next week! <3


	6. Confiding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! Back again! The response to this fic has just been unbelievable to me - thank you so much!! I'm overwhelmed in the best way possible. Happy Friday! Without further ado, please enjoy :)

Naruto kind of loves school.

It takes some getting used to, but he’s starting to make friends. Well, other than Sakura. He likes Kiba and Shikamaru and Choji, and Sakura’s friends Ino and Hinata are nice, too. He doesn’t spend a lot of time with them, though, mostly because –

Well, none of them are as much fun as Sasuke.

Sasuke’s so fast, and he says he doesn’t like Naruto, but he does, because he sits next to him in class and plays with him at recess and eats with him at lunch, and over the last few months, they’ve started taking turns spending weekends at each other’s house’s too. Naruto likes Itachi almost as much as he likes Sasuke, but he’s a lot stricter than Iruka.

He’s never met Sasuke’s parents, though, and he tries not to ask. He’s curious, but then, Sasuke hasn’t asked him about his parents, either. It doesn’t matter, anyways. Most of the kids have stopped asking, and he knows Sasuke doesn’t really like them, but he’s not so tense around them anymore.

It’s better that way.

He knows Sasuke likes him best, though, because he bought a backpack to match Naruto's.

Sasuke brought it the third day of school, and he’s used it ever since. Naruto _loves_ it – especially since it means that usually when he thinks he’s lost something in class, he’s actually put it in Sasuke’s bag by accident, and he brings it back the next day.

He really is Naruto’s best friend.

Which is why when he comes in and won’t speak – not even to Naruto – he knows something’s up.

“Sasuke,” he tries, whispering loudly over his shoulder. “Saaaasuke. What’s wrong?”

Nothing. Sasuke’s back is stiff, and he’s writing so hard that Naruto thinks he might tear his paper.

“Hey, jerk face! Talk to me!”

“Go away, Naruto.”

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

The teacher catches him with a sharp glare, and he sinks back apologetically into his seat – for about ten seconds until she’s moved on to scolding Shikamaru, and he leans forward again, tapping at Sasuke's shoulder.

“Naruto, cut it out.” Sasuke slaps his hand.

“Will you talk to me at lunch then?”

Silence.

“Sasukeeee –”

“If I say yes, will you leave me alone?”

Naruto thinks about this, but the teacher is coming around again, so he doesn’t have a lot of time left to make a decision. “Uhh – yeah!”

“Then yes. Now cut it out.”

Naruto obediently settles down to work on his math sheet, but he’s pretty sure he gets most of the answers wrong. Whatever. Sasuke came over to his house last weekend, so he can get Itachi to help him this weekend. He likes it when Itachi helps them with homework. Iruka takes too long to explain it (once, he made an entire board game to explain multiplication, and while Naruto had fun, the homework didn’t get done), and Kakashi just makes Naruto more confused. Based on the way he ends up snickering and lets Iruka take over, Naruto kind of thinks that’s really his goal.

But Itachi’s patient and clear, and he makes it easy to work, even though he doesn’t really let them play at all until it’s done – so basically, Naruto knows that if he doesn’t get it done today, it doesn’t matter.

At lunch, though, Sasuke packs up his stuff and runs so fast that Naruto –

Naruto ends up leaving his lucky pencil on the floor. He knows he should go pick it up – it’s rolling, it’s _rolling –_ but finding Sasuke is more important. Something’s wrong. Sasuke’s been his best friend for months now, and he’s never acted like this before. He’s grumpy sometimes, but – this is different.

He finds him outside, lunch in hand, lid still on, sitting against the wall. “Go away, Naruto,” he says, and his voice shakes.

“No. You said you’d talk to me.” Naruto crosses his arms and stares down at him. “I lost my lucky pencil so you’ll talk to me, you know.”

Sasuke’s bent forward so Naruto can’t see his face, but he knows he’s upset. “I said it so you’d leave me alone, dummy. Go away. I don’t wanna talk to you.”

Naruto thinks about this, and he remembers – “That’s okay. Kakashi says I don’t have to talk about something if I don’t want to, either.” He leans against the wall and slides until he’s sitting next to Sasuke, shoulders pressed close. “Can I have some of your lunch, though? I forgot mine.”

Sasuke laughs a little, but it’s shaky. “Sure you didn’t lose it, loser?”

Naruto huffs. “No, jerk, I left it at home. You gonna share or what?”

Sasuke pushes him, but when he opens the lunch, he gives half to Naruto.

Naruto knows he’s his best friend, and he wants to know what’s wrong, but he doesn’t want to ask, so instead he starts chattering about how Jiraiya’s coming to visit next week and does Sasuke want to meet him because he wants to meet Sasuke and –

“My parents are visiting this weekend.”

Naruto shuts up for approximately two seconds before saying, “What?”

Sasuke bites his lip. “It’s dumb,” he mumbles, “but my parents are coming to visit this weekend. We haven’t really seen them since school started, and mostly, my dad just wants to talk to Itachi, I think.”

“That’s dumb. Itachi’s cool, but you’re cooler.”

Sasuke glances at him. “You think?”

“Well, duh,” Naruto says easily. “Way cooler. Itachi’s scarier, though.”

“What?! Why?!”

“He’s taller. And he does that thing with his eyes – you know, when it’s like he sees inside your brain?” Naruto shivers.

Sasuke laughs, and it’s quieter than usual, but it makes Naruto’s heart happy. “Scaredy-cat,” Sasuke teases.

“Jerk-face!” He blows a raspberry at Sasuke’s face, and Sasuke shoves him away, laughing harder. “Wait, I still need to come over this weekend for Itachi’s help with homework.”

Sasuke shakes his head. “Not this time.”

“Aww, but Sas –”

“Not this time, Naruto.” He elbows him in his side. “But you can come over today, if you want, stupid. The test is tomorrow anyways.”

“Wh – it is?!”

Sasuke grins. “Yup. You’re totally gonna fail, dummy.”

Naruto jumps up. “Not if you fail first!”

“That doesn’t even make _se_ – _”_

“Last one to the merry-go-round’s a rotten egg!”

Sasuke wins, but Naruto thinks that’s mostly because his shoes were tied and Naruto’s weren’t, and honestly –

Sasuke’s happy.

Winning the race doesn’t seem very important next to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a solid chance that my childlessness is coming through here, so please suspend your disbelief for me for this one haha :) do kids have homework? I think I remember having homework. Are they doing multiplication yet? I don't know. Bear with me, y'all, got a time skip coming so I have a bit more confidence in that :) Anyways, what did you think? Bit more relationship building and bonding? :) Let me know! See y'all next week! <3


	7. Asking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday! I don't know about y'all, but it's been a hell of a week here, and I'm so tired, but you know what? Going through and responding to your comments really made me smile so much. I appreciate each and every one of you <3 Reminder that we have a time skip here! There will be several of these over the course of the story, but this is the first. Please enjoy! :)

Sasuke’s thirteen years old when Itachi finally confronts him about the steadily growing number of Naruto’s things that have wound up in his closet.

Sasuke initially just had a shoebox. Most of the stuff he figures out how to give back – Naruto is still, even at thirteen, kinda dumb, and Sasuke’s managed to convince him that he’s given Sasuke things or put them in Sasuke’s backpack instead of his own because yes, seven years later, Sasuke is still pulling the matching backpack shit, and thank fuck Naruto hasn’t questioned it.

Still, sometimes, Sasuke can’t figure out how to give something back. The frog. The lucky pencil. Some mismatched socks he must’ve lost at home. A library book that unfortunately Naruto _knows_ he left on a train and insists on paying the fine, or Sasuke would’ve just returned it without him knowing.

And slowly, it’s gotten so the shoebox not only doesn’t close, but the lid just stays open now, which isn’t ideal, given how often Naruto’s over, but Sasuke doesn’t have a better solution.

Itachi, apparently, does.

Sasuke’s sitting in front of his closet trying to figure out whether or not he can convince Naruto that he gave Sasuke Sakura’s favorite hair ribbon when they both know damn well he used it to slingshot a piece of gum across the room to Kiba yesterday when Itachi walks in and drops a large box in front of Sasuke. “Build it,” he says.

“What?” Sasuke jumps, scrambling to shove the shoebox back, but of course the damn thing doesn’t even _close –_

Itachi raises an eyebrow. “Sasuke,” he says calmly, “do you remember the toy frog Naruto showed you that first day in the park?”

Sasuke freezes.

“And you found it on the floor of your room the next morning?”

“How did you –”

“I wake you up every morning. I saw it before you did, and you are not as subtle as you think you are. It is a miracle that Naruto is as clueless as he is.”

Sasuke glowers.

Itachi ignores him. “But your solution has been long-since outgrown. I have a better one. Build it.”

Sasuke looks at the box. It’s a storage system with a set of bins with spaces for neat labels that should, based on the dimensions, fit snugly in his closet.

He doesn’t want to admit it, but it’s probably a good idea. “Thanks,” he mutters.

“You’re welcome, little brother.” Itachi doesn’t leave, though, and Sasuke waits. There’s no way he doesn’t want something else. “May I ask why you haven’t just told him? He is your best friend, after all.”

“That’s just it,” Sasuke snaps. “He’s my best friend. And he wants a soulmate. He doesn’t want me as his match. So he doesn’t have to know. And it’s not like – not like I can just tell him now, after all this –”

“You can, if you’d like.” Itachi considers the shoebox as if he’s never seen it before, which, now that Sasuke’s thinking about it, is almost certainly a lie. “It would be best for him to know.”

“Are you going to tell me the truth about our family then?” Sasuke challenges. “Or should I trust the internet? Or ask dad?”

Itachi stills. “I’d prefer you not do either of those,” he says quietly.

“If you never tell me, I’m going to have to choose one of them.”

“Another day, Sasuke.”

“Ita –”

“Not today.” Itachi steps back, and Sasuke suddenly sees how very, very tired his brother is. “Please, another day. I promise. This weekend, if you’d like.”

“Naruto’s coming over this weekend.”

“Were you planning on keeping it a secret from your soulmate?”

“He’s not my –” Sasuke stops as Itachi stares very pointedly at the hair ribbon still in Sasuke’s hand. “Okay, fine. He can be there.”

“He doesn’t have to be. But I think you’d prefer it.” Itachi walks towards the door. “Better have it built before he comes over, then. I think we both know if you continue the way you have been, it’s only a matter of time before he finds it. And I do think it would best if you told him instead of him finding out by accident.”

“Go away.”

Itachi chuckles but leaves, and Sasuke’s left with a set of bins and a storage system to build and too many questions.

He knows he shouldn’t, but he calls Naruto anyways.

“Hey, Sas – what are you doing? It sounds like something's wrong.”

And this is why Sasuke shouldn’t have called him. “Nothing, loser,” he says, putting the phone on speaker and setting it beside him. Thankfully, Itachi’s taken to closing his door when he leaves these days. “Just chores.”

Naruto groans. “You’re always doing chores!”

“You’re one to talk. Who was stuck at home all last weekend because he didn’t clean his room?”

“Hey – that’s not – that’s because I lost Iruka’s hat, and you know it,” Naruto accuses. “If I had a soulmate to bring it back, but since that’s apparently not something that's going to happen to me –”

“You’re thirteen, moron. Lots of people don’t find their soulmates until later.”

“Bet you’re gonna find yours before I find mine,” Naruto mutters sulkily. “Whatever.”

“And I have that hat, dumbass. You left it Itachi’s car the other day.” Sasuke bites his lip, hoping that that’s possible – he can’t actually remember when Naruto last had that hat, but if he’s still looking for it, it’s possible that he’ll buy this –

“I did?” Naruto asks, sounding doubtful. “Huh. I could’ve sworn – whatever. Can you bring it to school tomorrow? He’s still all pissy about it.”

“No, why would anyone be upset about someone else losing their stuff,” Sasuke says dryly. “I can’t imagine.”

“Shut up, asshole. You know it just – happens sometimes.” He laughs. “If it weren’t for you, I’d probably have lost half the shit I own.”

Sasuke stares at the now-necessary bins that will inevitably fill up with Naruto’s shit – and that’s only the stuff he can’t figure out an excuse to return – and asks, half sincere, “Haven’t you already?”

“Hey, I – I’m getting better,” Naruto says defensively, and Sasuke –

Absolutely cannot let that slide. “You are _not_ getting better.”

He can hear Naruto’s irritated mumbling almost before it starts and cuts him off. “You’re coming over this weekend, right?”

“Wh – yeah, I was hoping we could start that stupid proje – you know, the one about family history? Because I wanna…I wanna include my parents, too, and I have to call Jiraiya and ask that, and I don’t want – Iruka’s always good about it, right, but I know it makes him sad, and it’s not like he and Kakashi won’t be on there, I just –”

“I get it, moron,” Sasuke says softly. He pulls the slats for the storage system out of the box and stares at them, rubbing his thumb over the edges. “I’m going to ask Itachi, this weekend.”

There’s a moment of silence. “Yeah?” Naruto asks finally, his voice crackling. “You – you sure?”

“Gonna have to for this project to be done right. And…it’s time.”

“And – you – you’re sure you – want me over? For that? I mean – it’s okay if you don’t – I can call Jiraiya some other time –”

“Idiot.” Sasuke closes his eyes. “I want you there.”

“Yeah?” Naruto breathes.

“Yeah.” He pinches his finger between the slats, and it jolts him back to the present. “So don’t be dumb – I know that’s hard for you, but try – and just be ready, okay?”

“Yeah, Sas – you know I got you.”

“I know you would, if you could remember anything –”

“Losing things doesn’t count!” Naruto half-shouts. “Doesn’t count, doesn’t count!”

“You’re such a loser,” Sasuke snickers. “Literally.”

But he has to admit – if only to himself, as Naruto complains over the phone – that he does feel a lot better knowing Naruto will be there.

Even if Sasuke's too scared to tell him why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I sincerely love writing these characters. They bring me such joy. I hope they made you smile today! What did you think? See y'all next week! <3


	8. Learning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday, y'all!! Thank you for making this a consistently joyful part of my week :) I think about this story literally daily, and it's so, so wild to me that y'all are following along with it too :) Here's the next bit - please enjoy! :)

Naruto goes home with Sasuke on Friday after school, full of nerves that don’t even really apply to him and talking way too much to cover them up.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to bother Sasuke too much – but then, he’s found – his talking usually doesn’t. Sasuke tends to be okay with whatever Naruto needs to do to feel better.

Naruto’s grateful for that. He doesn’t remember anyone else ever being this – patient with him, and not overwhelmed. Naruto’s not sure he’s ever overwhelmed Sasuke in his life, and it’s infuriating, too – because he’s won one race, _one_ , and Sasuke still calls it a draw – but it’s comforting, too.

Naruto’s never had a better friend, and now his best friend is going to ask about his family and learn – and it’s probably going to hurt, so Naruto’s going to be there.

He hopes he can help. He can’t quite believe Sasuke even wants him there, but he’s glad, because he doesn’t want Sasuke to find out alone. He hasn’t looked online – he promised Sasuke he wouldn’t – but he hears rumors from their classmates, too, and he knows that whatever the story is, it probably isn’t pretty.

He doesn’t think it’s quite right that someone like Sasuke should have an ugly story.

“Calm down, moron,” is all Sasuke says in response to his jitters and near-constant word vomit. “It’ll be fine.”

Naruto stops in his tracks as Sasuke swings his backpack onto his bedroom floor. “Yeah,” he says firmly, “yeah, it fucking will be, okay?”

Sasuke turns his head but not enough to hide the small smile – Naruto’s a pro at spotting it, and he’ll have to do better than that to convince him it’s not there. “Yeah, I get it, moron.”

“Good.” Naruto sits down on the bed, legs swinging. “Is Itachi –”

“I’m here. Hello, Naruto. Welcome home, little brother.”

Sasuke fidgets for a moment, eyes darting back and forth between the bed and his desk chair before he settles somewhat anxiously on the bed, not quite touching Naruto. “Are you going to tell us now?”

Itachi sits himself lightly on the edge of the desk, and his face doesn’t change, but Naruto’s been over enough to recognize the lines that tension draws on his face and through his posture, like a bow pulled taut and ready to fire. “If you’d like.”

“I’ve waited long enough,” Sasuke says, and Naruto thinks – yeah, that’s right.

Not everything should be kept secret.

“Perhaps.” Itachi merely tilts his head. “Or you could continue to trust me and wait.”

Sasuke’s silent, and he turns ever so slightly towards Naruto, who realizes –

Sasuke’s scared. Just – just a little, maybe, and so that no one else might notice, but –

“I think,” he offers tentatively, “that – um – trust is better when you talk about things. Like, yeah, if you don’t want to tell me something, I can trust that that’s okay – but it’s better trust if you talk to me about it. I think.”

He glances nervously at Sasuke when he’s done and sees him flush and look down but nod anyways.

“Interesting,” Itachi says. “It definitely shows that you take after Iruka, Naruto.”

His voice is warm, and Naruto grins broadly at him, reassured.

“So tell me then,” Sasuke says suddenly, voice brittle. “Tell me what it means to be a part of our family, Itachi.”

Itachi settles just a bit more, but he still reminds Naruto of a cat, coiled, prepared to strike. “I’m sure you have heard some of it, both of you. The rumors are correct in their essence, if very little else. The Uchiha are a people who are born with the ability to dissolve soul bonds. We can break the connection between soulmates, if we choose.”

Naruto’s blood runs cold. He – he knew this – it’s what everyone says, but to hear it confirmed –

“How?” Sasuke asks, and he hears the same edge of fear.

“It depends on the person.” Itachi shifts slightly. “It does not come as naturally to everyone. However, father has this ability in abundance – and myself, even more so. I suspect you will have it strongly as well, Sasuke. Our mother does to a lesser extent. For her, it requires several hours of conversation with both parties and intense focus. Father only needs to be speak with one member; however, it may take him nearly all day, and he, too, must stay focused the entire time.”

“What about you?” Naruto hears himself ask. Beside him, Sasuke flinches.

Itachi pulls his feet up onto Sasuke’s chair and leans forward, knees splayed out, eyes nearly glowing with intensity. “I need to speak to one party for several minutes.”

The silence settles heavy in the room until Sasuke suddenly pushes at Naruto, breaking his eye contact with Itachi. “Quit,” he mutters. “Not that big a deal.”

“It – it totally is, though!” Naruto wiggles his way back onto the center of the bed and looks back at Itachi, who’s relaxed into a more settled pose. “Is that – is that what the Uchiha Foundation does?”

“In short, yes. Father and I…differ slightly on how particular we are about what clients we accept. I prefer to break soul bonds only in circumstances of abuse or misuse. Father is not as picky.”

“Only in those circumstances, though,” Sasuke says quietly, but it makes Naruto look at him – there’s something hard and almost defensive in his voice. “Not in any other –”

“No,” Itachi says immediately. “And never, _ever_ without permission, Sasuke. I promise.”

Sasuke relaxes, and Naruto realizes –

“You know who your soulmate is!” he accuses. “And you don’t wanna – you don’t wanna break it!”

“That does seem to be the case,” Itachi agrees smugly.

“Shut up, loser!” Sasuke snaps, pushing at Naruto, who’s nearly clambering over top of him in excitement. “It’s none of your business.”

“But I’m your best friend!”

“It certainly seems like his business,” Itachi adds.

Sasuke glares at his brother. “Go away, Itachi.”

“Oh? That’s it? No questions?”

Logically, Naruto knows he’s not the one being asked, but still – “I do! Itachi, do you have a soulmate? Can you see the soul bond or do you just guess? How does it work? Do you like doing it? Is that what you’re doing with your dad? Is Sasuke supposed to learn how to do it? Can I –”

Itachi interrupts him with a laugh. “Slow down, Naruto. I think I’ve given you two plenty to think about for now. If Sasuke…would like, we can pick this up later. Homework first. Naruto, I think you have a phone call to make?”

“Oh, shi – I mean, crap, yeah, I have to – Sas – did I grab –”

Sasuke reaches into his backpack, pulls out Naruto’s cell phone, and throws it at him. “Loser.”

“Asshole,” Naruto shoots back. “Thanks, I’ll – I’ll go call Jiraiya – but you’re – good, right?” He pauses, halfway off the bed, to meet Sasuke’s eyes. “You’re good?”

He sees it, the way Sasuke’s face goes soft around the edges. “I’m good, moron. I’ll be here when you come back.”

“Promise?”

“Idiot.” But when Naruto scowls, Sasuke relents. “Yeah, I promise. I’m not going anywhere.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? What you expected? I hope it lived up to the anticipation! Of course, we're not nearly done yet, but this chapter - oof, it was a lot. I wanted to get it right so badly that it got rewritten several times. I hope y'all liked it! See y'all next week! <3


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